


We have to work together

by Adagal



Category: Crash Bandicoot (Video Games)
Genre: Bodyswap, Gen, How Do I Tag, Light Swearing, Nina calls Ari a furry like she should, We must work together even though I hate you, this would make the worst comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 09:42:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28561485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adagal/pseuds/Adagal
Summary: In which Ari and Nina accidentally bodyswap due to Ari fucking up Nina's school project and have to fix it before Nina must go back to school for the springGod this sounds awful I'm so sorry





	1. Images so you know what the main characters look like as you read

Images of my design of Nina (left), and my oc Ari (right)!!!!


	2. The Actual Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For future reference, if a character's name is in ' ' like 'Character One' or something, it refers to the character that's in Character Two's body, or vice versa. Might not make much sense in hindsight, and I'm very sorry if it doesn't.

Ari yawned, wandering the halls of her dad’s castle. She clutched her tablet closely to her body as she slumped to… where was she going again? Ari silently chastised herself for forgetting where she was going, and where she even was for that matter. Then again, it was easy to get lost in Castle Cortex, even if one knew all the passageways well enough.

As she leaned against a wall, Ari yet again pulled up the map to the castle on her tablet. Suddenly, she heard clanking noises coming from one of the rooms she was near. Peering out, the door was open, so she walked up to the doorway to see what was going on.

“Hello?” Ari called into the room. Hesitantly, she walked inside to find Nina hanging from the top of a large machine, screwing something into a panel.

The machine itself was about 11 feet tall, and was a giant upright ring, like a teleporter machine from the movies.

“Nina?” Ari called out, leaning on a set of metal crates behind the machine. Nina turned around to see the wolf looking up at her.  
“Oh my god,” she muttered before lowering herself to the ground via her robotic arm. “Ari, hi, it’s… interesting to see you I guess.”

“When did you get here?” Ari asked.

“I’ve been here for three days,” Nina stated, not trying to hide her annoyance. Ari smiled and rolled her eyes, already feeling like an idiot.

“Big castle, huh? Hehe. Anyway, what cha working on?”

Nina gave a cold laugh. “Like you’d care, furry. But really, it’s a school project. A molecular teleporter, if you will.”

“That’s cool. I hope it goes well.” Ari started to walk out, but lost her footing on a collection of pipes and wires on the floor. There was an audible jerk as she tripped over them, with the sound of screeching metal on the floor.

“What the hell did you do?” Nina shouted. 

She grabbed Ari’s shoulders, about to possibly shake her, when a creaking noise garnered both of their attention. A blue light flashed from the ring and teetered forward, then fell on top of the two girls (who were currently screaming in terror), sucking them into the light. Blue electricity sparked everywhere, then the light spat the girls back out again onto the cold floor.

* * *

When Nina woke up, she felt like she’d pulled an all-nighter again. Her hands and feet felt all fuzzy, and her vision was blurry. Trying to steady herself, she put her hands to her head and stood up.

“What the-” Nina muttered, her voice different than she remembered. Perhaps it was part of her being disoriented.

She then took in the scene around her. The machine had collapsed, thanks to Ari’s fancy footwork, and now she and Nina were…

Wait, Nina was on the floor still? But if Nina was up, but her body was on the floor, either she was dead or…

Struck with a new sense of anxiety, Nina ran to a pitch black monitor. She stared at her reflection, and realized her worst fear.

She was currently in Ari’s body, with her grey fur, big ears, long fluffy tail, glasses and all. ‘Nina’ screamed in terror from the sight, waking ‘Ari’ up.

“What happened? Are we ok?” ‘Ari’ asked. “We didn’t die, did we? What’s with my teeth?” ‘Ari ran her tongue across her new buck teeth, wincing at the feel.

“Get away from my teeth!” ‘Nina’ shouted. ‘Ari’ turned to look at her.

“Oh my god,” she whispered. “Is that what I actually look like?”

“Don’t you think there’s more pressing matters?” ‘Nina’ growled, stomping up to her body. “Like how the transporter collapsed and switched our goddamn bodies!” She grabbed ‘Ari’ by the neck and started shaking her.

“And it’s all! Your! Fault! You! Damn! Furry!”

“But…” ‘Ari’ managed to choke out, trying to pry the fuzzy hands from her neck. “If I’m… in your body, aren’t...aren’t you hurting your own body?”

‘Nina’ blinked a few times, then let go. ‘Ari’ tumbled to the ground and started coughing intensely.

“You’re right,” ‘Nina’ grumbled. “And anger won’t get us anywhere. Let’s set this now, if Uncle or anyone else comes over here, we keep up appearances for each other. Got that?” Still on the floor, ‘Ari’ gave a shaking thumbs up, before her hand dropped back down.

“Holy moly, your hands are so heavy. How do you function with these?” she wheezed.

“Girls! Is everything ok?” a voice yelled from down the hall. ‘Nina’ froze up, it was Cortex.

“Uh, yeah!” she yelled back in as sweet a voice as she could muster. “Everything’s fine, uh, dad!”

No more noise. ‘Nina’ let out a sigh of relief before looking back at the broken machinery everywhere.

“Not only did my project fall, it’s broken. Wonderful,” she muttered, along with a few cusses.

“You still haven’t answered my question!” ‘Ari’ shouted. ‘Nina’ continued to stare at the wreckage, then turned back to ‘Ari’.

“First things first, we’ll have to lift up the ring and repair it that way. You’re the one with the bionic hands, so you’ll have to do most of the heavy lifting,” she explained. “Now come over and help me. Ari?”

‘Ari’ continued to struggle to even stand up off the floor. Still annoyed, ‘Nina’ walked over and lifted up her hands, understanding now why the other girl wasn’t used to the weight.

“Can you stand now?” she asked.

“Yes.” ‘Ari’ hopped up, clutching ‘Nina’s’ hands. “Let’s go.”

With a sigh, ‘Nina’ dragged ‘Ari’ over to the ring, and dropped their hands.

“Let’s get this over with,” ‘Nina’ said. She waited until ‘Ari’ had placed her hands firmly underneath the metal.

“One, two, three!”

“One, two, three!”

In a second, the transporter flew back upright, small pieces of scrap metal falling loose from it as it thumped back onto the floor. The two of them huffed, part of the job now done.

“Hey Ari?” ‘Nina’ asked. “How strong is your body?”

“Depends,” ‘Ari’ gasped. “What are you doing?”

“Gonna try to shuffle up to the top and fix the wires there.”

“Yeah, I’d prefer you don’t break anything in my body.”

“It’s that or I teach you how to use my arms.”

“Please teach me.”

“Seriously?” ‘Nina’ pinched the bridge of her snout under her glasses, and grumbled deep in her throat.

“Fine. But you have to listen to everything I tell you, ok?”

“Yeah, totally, you think I like having hands almost as big as my head?”

“Hey, if it makes you feel any better, your body ain’t a treat to work with either. Anyway, listen to me!”

‘Nina’ walked up behind ‘Ari’ and positioned one of her hands up, pointing it at the top of the ring.

“This should be easy,” ‘Nina’ started to explain. “You’re just gonna extend your arm and latch onto the target. Bang.”

‘Nina’ flicked ‘Ari’s’ wrist like she was shooting a gun, and sent her robotic arm shooting at the top of the curve. ‘Ari’ gasped in fear like she didn't do it right, but her hand clamped down on the target anyway.

“There. Now bombs away.” ‘Nina’ wrapped her arm around ‘Ari’s’ shoulders and slapped her on the back, sending the two of them flying up as well until they smacked their heads on ‘Ari’s’ hand. Once they got their bearings, ‘Nina’ climbed over ‘Ari’ and got on the top of the ring, pulling a screwdriver from ‘Ari’s’ belt and sticking it in the panel.

“What the hell Nina?” ‘Ari’ screeched.

“I got what I need now, you just sit back and wait,” ‘Nina’ said, waving ‘Ari’ off.

“You don’t need me for-

“Nope, you’re good. Just get down and leave me alone.”

‘Ari’ looked down, and gripped the ring tighter. She then squeezed her eyes shut and dropped down, landing on the floor with a big thump. ‘Nina’ looked down to see ‘Ari’ splayed out on the floor.

“I swear to god if you’re dead!” ‘Nina’ shouted. She turned back to her work, only to realize part of what she had to do required a tool she didn’t have. Groaning, she looked down at ‘Ari’ again.

“Hey, if you’re really not dead, can you get me down?” she asked.

‘Ari’s’ eyes fluttered open, her head dizzy. “Yeah,” she mumbled, before struggling to stand up yet again. She lifted one hand, then pointed it like a gun to her body, holding her other hand up for extra precision.

“Bang,” she whispered, flicking her wrist and shooting the arm off to grip ‘Nina’ around the waist, only to miss and hit her smack in the head.

“Seriously?” ‘Nina’ groaned loudly. “You know what? I’ll deal with this myself. I don’t even care if I hurt your body at this point, I wouldn’t even be surprised if you broke something in mine! Just sit there and leave me alone!”

‘Ari’ retracted her arm back and hung her head. She sat where she stood, cross legged. ‘Nina’ stared at her with daggers in her eyes as she shuffled down the ring until her feet hit the floor.

“Don’t even think about touching anything here,” ‘Nina’ spat at the wolf girl. “I’m going to steal another tool from N. Gin.”

With that, ‘Nina’ left the room, leaving ‘Ari’ alone and staring at the damage she did.

Obviously, she felt like a total idiot. Part of her even wanted to run out and find her cousin to apologize, but she knew it wouldn’t really work. Nina was always like that, from the time the two of them first met.

Suddenly, there was a gentle knock at the door, with a familiar face popping inside.

“Hello, Nina! What’s got you so down?”

‘Ari’ jerked up, staring at the person. It was Cortex again.

“Oh, uh,” ‘Ari’s’ eyes darted around the room, trying to think of anything that would make sense for Nina to say.

“I’m just uh, missing school?” ‘Ari’ made the biggest effort not to smile after she asked, as she normally did when asking in that “I don’t know what I’m talking about” voice.

“Ah, I see,” Cortex rubbed his chin. “Well, don’t worry then, Nina! Remember, you’re leaving tonight for Madame Amberly’s. I’m even driving you! In fact, we must be going… right about now! Come with me, Nina! I’ll ask N. Brio and N. Gin to wheel your little invention to the truck!”

With no time to react, Cortex grabbed ‘Ari’ by the arm and ran her out of the room.

“I do wish your cousin could’ve shown up to at least say hello to you, Nina. Always stuck up in her room, with that tablet of hers. Maybe I should send her off to school with you,” Cortex rambled as they ran out of the castle.

‘Ari’ perked up a little as cold air hit her face, and realized.

She was outside of the castle! For the first time in her life! And not looking out a window to the outside! She stared at all the trees around her, as they loomed over her and her dad’s heads. Suddenly, she heard the click of a door and the feel of a leather seat as she was flung into the passenger seat of a pickup truck, noticing Nina’s invention already in the back of the truck with a tarp over it.

“This will have to do,” Cortex sighed, revving up the engine. “Let’s go!”

‘Ari’ rolled down the window and stuck her head out, horrified of what may happen now that she and Nina possibly weren’t ever going back to normal again.

* * *

‘Nina’ started walking back into the mechanics room, the object she needed in her hand. She then heard the sound of footsteps coming around the corner, only to see it was N. Gin, looking extremely tired.

“Hello Ari,” he mumbled. “What are you doing out?”

‘Nina’ plastered on her best smile and hid the device she stole behind her back.

“Just out for a walk,” she said through her teeth. “Uh, what’re you doing?”

“I just came back from helping Doctor Cortex load Nina’s big ring thingy into my truck.”

‘Nina’s’ jaw dropped slightly. “What? What about Nina?”

“She’s currently with Doctor Cortex. I assume they’d be leaving about now for that disgusting school.”

“They’re what?”

“What? Did you want to say goodbye?”

‘Nina’ didn’t answer, as she was already running down the nearest set of stairs to try and catch up before the truck left.

Not even bothering to open the large front doors, ‘Nina’ rolled herself out of an open window and fell to the ground, N. Gin’s device still clutched in her hand. The truck was already driving away. No, it can’t!

“Stop! Wait!” ‘Nina’ shouted, taking off after the vehicle. Her arms were waving frantically, trying to catch either one’s attention.

‘Ari’ turned around in her seat, seeing ‘Nina’ chasing after the truck. Her face twisted into a grimace, as she wasn’t normally allowed outside. If Cortex saw her…

“Uh, uncle?” ‘Ari’ asked. “You think I could sneak into the back? I forgot to add something onto my transporter.”

“Sure, go right ahead,” said Cortex, as he opened the window that led into the bed of the truck. 

Without a second thought, ‘Ari’ rolled into the bed, tiptoed carefully around the tarp and ropes, and made her way to the back door, leaning on it.

“Grab my hand!” she shouted, holding a hand out to ‘Nina’.

“I can’t reach!” ‘Nina’ shouted back.

'Ari' stared at 'Nina's' figure as it grew smaller in the distance, racking her brain for a plan. She then looked down at her hands, and thought of something.

Carefully, 'Ari' climbed over the door, making sure her feet were safe on the ledge, and grabbed the door firmly with one hand.  She then jumped off, praying she wouldn’t hurt herself anymore than she already had.

To her luck, her arm stretched out further and further as her hand kept its grasp on the back of the truck.

“Grab on!” ‘Ari’ shouted, holding out her other hand, which ‘Nina’ grabbed onto. They wrapped their arms around each other and continued running after the truck.

“Bombs away!” ‘Ari’ declared, proceeding to jump off the ground and launched herself and ‘Nina’ at the transporter. The two smashed into the door, but they were otherwise ok and now safe on the bed of the truck.

“Ok, let’s fix this baby up,” ‘Nina’ muttered, pulling out the device she still held. With help up from ‘Ari’ diving under the tarp and launched up to the top of the ring, she dug into the large panel from before. After a few twists and zaps from the device, she smacked the metal panel back over the wires.

“Fire it up!” she shouted, falling back to the floor. ‘Ari’ pressed a button on the base of the invention, and a blue light sparked from the ring yet again. The two held hands, and jumped into the ring, only to be spat back out again.

Did it work? Nina sat up, looking at her hands. They felt heavy and… robotic! It worked!

“Yes!” Nina cheered, pumping her arms in the air.

Ari sat up, feeling her tail wag again and her ears twitch.

“We’re normal again!” she grinned. She turned to chat with Nina, but the teen had already dove back into the passenger seat of the truck.

That’s right. She was still outside. Cortex was going to kill her. Although, she was herself again, so it was well worth whatever would come her way.

Needless to say, it was quite a surprise to Cortex when he saw the wolf girl in the back of the truck with Nina’s invention. After at least 10 minutes of chastising, he sat her in the passenger seat and told to wait for when he came back from escorting Nina back to school. The two girls gave a small wave at each other as Nina walked through the doors to the academy. Then the gates shut, and she was gone.

Ari continued to stare out into the world as she continued to be scolded by Cortex when he returned, and on the long drive home. She was also forbade from her tablet as soon as they got home, but she didn’t mind.

The day was extremely hectic, but at least everything was ok in the end. And who knew? Maybe she even connected a little more with her cousin. Only time would tell, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading my cringe :)


End file.
